Cats & Dogs as Kristina Cook battles on in Dressage

EVEN heavy rain, thunder and lightning couldn’t put off Team GB’s Kristina Cook who competed in the dressage with Miner’s Frolic in Greenwich Park on Sunday.

The fourth of the British riders, Cook and Miner’s Frolic were foot perfect and scored 42 penalties, despite competing throughout the storms.

“I’m used to riding him in the rain,” said Cook afterwards. “I don’t have an arena at home and I’ve ridden in some very wet days on the South Downs. The horse is used to the wind and the rain coming across - that side of it he was great with - but when the judges’ roof blew up and down when he was doing his extended trot, I really hoped that he wasn’t going to spook at the noise.

“The crowd, bless them, they were getting wet and were all muttering an chattering but I’m just really pleased and proud of the horse that he kept a lid on it and kept really focussed and tried his best. I’m really pleased from that point of view, we would have loved to have the sun shining down on us but that’s England for you!

“We can’t stop the competition and say, actually, I don’t want to do it now. At an Olympic Games you hope you’re not going to have thunder and lightning and rain thrown at you but I have and you have to deal with it.”